Unexpected Demigod
by jgal747
Summary: Who's her mother? That's what Nikki's been wondering all along. She finally gets her answer when her friend brings her into the world of the gods, but will the answer bring her any peace of mind?
1. My Teacher is a Monster, Literally

**A/N: Hello! Welcome to my story! Thanks a bunch for clicking :)**

**Reviews are appreciated here, but I'm cool with you just reading it.  
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**Quick note: If you see (#) next to something, I explain it down below for extra side-notes.  
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**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs. That's really creepy to say (O_o)  
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* * *

I was getting ready for school. School sucks, by the way, especially my school. It's an academy for people with disorders.

Basically, the "freaks."

And I have a _really_ long list of disorders. For one, I have dyslexia, so I can't read for crap. I have ADHD, so I can't stand still for more than eight seconds. Then, I have OCD to top it all off.

That's just peachy.

I should probably introduce myself. Hi, I'm Nikki Montag. I'm in sixth grade.

I picked up a strawberry before heading out the door. Mmm, I loved Delphi's Strawberry Service (#1). They're, like, magically delicious! (Ha ha, Lucky Charms…) My dad waved as I hopped on my bike and sped off.

I don't have a mom. My father said she died just after my birth. I've tried asking my dad what she was like, but he gets all depressed and then I feel bad about asking.

My dark brown, almost black, hair whipped around me as I rode my bike to the school. I live in New Jersey, in a little town called Cape May. Today's the last day of school. I could almost see myself tanning at the beach, my light blue eyes hiding behind Oakley sunglasses.

The school loomed ahead of me. Broadneck Academy (#2). This place is an eight-hour prison, I swear.

Sighing, I hooked up my bike to the stand with a lock. It's a relatively safe town, I'm just too paranoid.

Someone behind me poked my shoulder. I spun around, already knowing who is was. Grace, my – one and only - friend. "Hey!" she said cheerfully.

"Why are you in such a good mood?" I asked.

"Y'know, tomorrow's the start of summer break! I'm going to that camp I went to last year," she explained.

"Great."

Grace hesitated for a second. "You should come with me this year. The camp is free." By now, we were walking to our first period class.

"Where is it?"

"Off Cape Cod," she answered.

"Maybe." I shrugged and we got to our class. Mrs. Raymon glared at me, like always. She hated me and I don't know why. I glared back. At the bell, she slammed the door shut and began teaching.

Yes, even on the last day of school we have to learn. It sucks.

I zoned out, doodling, mainly of dogs. They sometimes float off the page and look like they're running.

Suddenly, a ruler was slapped on my desk. "Miss Montag, would you mind repeating what I just said?"

In my teacher's posh accent, I replied, "'Miss Montag, would you mind repeating what I just said?'"

"Detention," she growled. Our teachers give out detentions on the last day of school, too.

"Like always," I mumbled. A few minutes later, Grace was caught chewing gum and got detention as well. At least I won't be spending my last day of punishment alone.

The bell rang and we all shuffled out of math class.

Grace and I somehow got through the day. We barged through the halls to Mrs. Raymon's classroom at the end of the day, almost getting trampled by the kids that were sprinting to the buses to get out of school for the summer. "What do we have to do?" I asked when the school was empty.

"Nothing." Mrs. Raymon's voice suddenly became raspy and scratchy. "Two half-bloods at once. _Perfect!_"

Grace looked panicked and shuffled me out of the door. Mrs. Raymon followed us out. Her hair braided together and transformed into… snakes? And what I caught of her face looked rough and scaly. "Gorgon!" Grace shouted. "Don't look into her eyes!"

We started sprinting towards the exit. The thing was hissing at us. I stopped for a second to pull out a table behind us. It bought us some time, not a lot, but some time.

We skid down one hallway and burst through the doors. My lungs were on fire. The gorgon halted at the doorway. I saw her scaly legs crawl back into the school. I panted. "W-what was that?"

"A gorgon," Grace replied after taking a depth breath.

"Yeah. What's that?"

"It's a Greek monster."

"Oh yeah, wasn't Medusa one?" She nodded. "Wasn't Medusa, like, not afraid of sunlight?"

"Okay, first: stop saying monster's names. They're tabooed. Second: no gorgon is afraid of sunlight. I wonder what's up with Apollo today."

"Wait, Apollo? The Greek god, Apollo?" Another nod from Grace. "What's up with all the Greek stuff?"

My friend began walking in the direction of a public bus stop. "Look, Greek mythology is real. The gods; they're real. You don't have a mom? That's 'cause one of the goddesses has to be your mother."

"How's that possible?" Grace pushed me onto a bus that pulled up, saying it was going to Manhattan.

"I'll explain later. One thing for sure, you're definitely going to that camp with me now."

* * *

It was a few good hours 'til Grace told the bus driver to drop us off at some random road. On one side was a forest and the other side had a beach. We were in the middle of nowhere.

"Where's the camp?" I questioned.

"Through here," she said while grabbing my hand and pulling me into the forest. We walked a little while until we reached a random archway. The writing was Greek.

"Is this it?" I said with a raised eyebrow.

"Almost there!" We walked through the arch.

Oh my god –wait, if Greek stuff is real, it's "gods" – this place is crazy. I remembered it was foggy out. Not in this place. Here, it was a comfortable temperature; not too cool, not too warm. The sky was clear. Green, rolling hills and a lake could be seen in the distance.

"Oh, wow," I whispered.

"Pretty, cool, yeah?" Grace smiled. I could only nod like an idiot. "C'mon, let's go to the Big House."

When we got there, we walked into a man in a wheelchair and another person. This guy had on a fluorescent Hawaiian t-shirt and had _purple_ eyes. Sweet!

The man in the wheelchair had curly brown hair and a beard. He said, "Ah, Grace. Glad you could come this year. Who's this?"

"I'm Nikki," I introduced myself. "Nikki Montag. What is this place?"

"Camp Half-Blood," the dude in the fluorescent sighed. "I swear. Demigods these days..."

I felt all my frustration burst out of me. "Hey. I don't know what happened. One minute, I'm in detention, the next minute I'm being chased by a… a what, gorgon, you said? And who are you two? Who's my mom? My brain is freaking out right now!"

The man who prompted my outburst snapped his fingers and my mouth was filled with grapes. "Quit your talking. Call me Mr. D. That's Chiron."

I swallowed the grapes. They were sour; must be wine grapes. "Thanks for the snack."

"Mind your restrictions," Chiron reminded Mr. D, who rolled his eyes. "We can show you the orientation film. That should clear up a few things." Just when I thought I couldn't be surprised anymore, Chiron stood up.

Yeah, remember that he was in a wheelchair? Well, that wheelchair pulled a freakin' Mary Poppins. He just kept standing. The bottom half of a horse crawled out. It was white with flecks of gray.

He led me to a room with a few seats and a huge projector. I sat down in a chair and he flicked on the projector. The movie cackled on the screen. Chiron clopped out of the room and shut off the light.

The movie was awesome, at least, what I heard of it. Mainly, it was just talking about Greek myths and that Mr. D was actually Dionysus. I just paid attention to the epic music in the background.

The video lasted about ten minutes. I walked back to the main room. Chiron and Mr. D were there, along with a girl and a boy, both around my age. The girl had light blond hair and stormy gray eyes. She glared at me and left the room. "Pardon Annabeth," Chiron said about the girl.

"Where's Grace?" I asked.

"She went to her cabin," the centaur replied.

"Who's her dad?"

"Hephaestus." Oh, cool. God of metalworking and fire and that jazz. Makes sense, she always liked pulling apart pens.

"So, who's my mother?"

"We have yet to – "Chiron started, but soon stopped. He looked at the top of my head, as did the boy and Mr. D.

"Well, I'll be damned," Mr. D said. Thunder rolled in the distance. "I know, I already am!"

"Is there something on me?" I began to panic, combing through my hair in search of sketchy spiders. Chiron shook his head, still staring wide-eyed. Then I looked up.

There was a picture – more like a hologram – over me. It was a half-moon.

"Artemis?" Chiron murmured. "She broke her own oath?"

After a second, the image faded. Chiron shook his head and proclaimed, "Hail, Nikki Montag, Daughter of Artemis, the Goddess of the Hunt, Goddess of the moon, Goddess of the forests and hills, and Goddess of childbirth."

* * *

**A/N: Ooh, cliffhanger-y. **

**1.) Delphi's Strawberry Service: It's Camp Half-Blood's fake name for all the mortal world. They _do_ grow strawberries there, after all.  
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**2.) There's not actually a Broadneck Academy in Cape May. Merely fictional.  
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**Let me know if I miss up anything mythology-wise, which I almost certainly will. Thanks!  
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**-jgal747  
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	2. I Get a Tour of a Godly Camp

**A/N: Hey! Welcome Back!**

**Sorry for sort of forgetting this story and leave you with a cliffhanger-like ending last chapter. I've been busy. :P  
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**Without further ado, let the story begin!  
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**Disclaimer: Me no owns Percy Jackson series.  
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"I don't get it. I thought Artemis refused to have children and fall in love and stuff," the boy said. I looked at him. He had messy brown hair and sea green eyes. (#1)

"Yes, Percy, that was what she pledged. She was so certain of her decision; I'm surprised she broke it," Chiron said. "What is done is done, however. Percy, would you mind showing Nikki around the camp?"

Mr. D muttered, "A newbie showing around a newbie."

The kid nodded. "Sure." He turned to me. "I'm Percy Jackson, undecided demigod."

"Nikki Montag. Undecided?" I asked.

"Haven't been claimed yet," he explained. I gave an 'ah' of understanding and we walked out of the Big House.

We walked by a volleyball court with a few kids hitting a ball around. It looked pretty intense. "Ares versus Athena," Percy said. "They made a bet on this game, I think."

We kept going until he stopped at the lake. A few mermaid-like people were lounging around, staring up at some kids who were tanning and looking at mirrors. "Aphrodite's. They like looking at themselves."

We strolled near the fields that had strawberries growing throughout it. Some people – wait, they're not people. They're half-human, like little versions of centaurs. Oh, yeah, satyrs. Anyway, the satyrs were playing on reed pipes. Actual humans (geez, I can't even call them that; they're half-god!) were using some sort of magic or something on the plants. "Demeter kids and satyrs take care of the plants," Percy said.

Eventually, we made it to a horseshoe-shaped area with some houses making up the shape. In the center was a huge bonfire that a little girl was tending to.

"Alright. Here's where the cabins are. We got guy gods on one side" he waved to one side, "and girl god…desses on the other. The Big Three." He pointed to two tall structures.

"There's only two," I said like it was obvious (which it was).

"Hades doesn't have one. It would probably look too creepy," Percy answered. He walked to a run-down building with kids running in and out of it. "This is the Hermes' cabin."

I whistled. "Hermes really gets around."

He laughed. "Those aren't all his kids. This is where undecided half-bloods stay, too." That made a lot more sense.

He led me to a gorgeous silvery house. The roof was a black dome and had white dots on it, resembling the stars On the base of it were intricate carvings of life-like animals; wolves, rabbits, deer, bears, the likes. "I'm pretty sure this is Artemis' cabin. It's one of the only empty ones. Go in, check it out."

"Thanks, Percy. See you around?" I said. He grinned and walked off. I opened the door and went inside.

Oh. My. Goshee. This place is amazing! The walls are the same color as the outside, silver that looks like the moon (figures). The head of a deer and a bear hung off opposite walls. A rack for bows was on one wall, along with a spot for a quiver of arrows. There were a few bunk-beds. "Why would so many beds be here?" I asked no one. Then I looked up.

It looked the night sky. Stars dotted the top. I could point out Taurus and Leo. Something made me think they'll actually move along with the real stars.

That was when I realized that I had nothing. No clothes, no hairbrushes, no toothbrush, nothing. It sucked coming here on short notice. "Crap," I said about that.

"Hey," a familiar voice behind me said. Grace. She smiled brightly in the doorway. Her green eyes glanced around the room. "Artemis, huh?"

"Yeah, pretty cool," I replied. She hummed an agreement. Awkward silence. I cleared my throat. "When's dinner?"

Grace looked out the door. "Crap. Right now. I gotta go to my cabin. Just go to the dining pavilion." She dashed off with a wave.

Before I set off, I looked in the mirror and put my air up in a ponytail. I looked back at my light blue eyes staring back at me and nodded.

I walked out and followed the Hermes' cabin – I knew it was his because Percy gave me a half-wave in the back of the line. I stayed a little behind, though. The pavilion was large. Most of the people were already there, waiting for our cabins to it. I hurried to Artemis' table. I could tell from the name 'Artemis' etched on the side in Ancient Greek.

…Wait, Greek? I understood _that_?

Then I realized everyone was staring at me. Everybody was silent. The girl, Annabeth, called out, "Hey! Why is she sitting at Artemis'?"

Chiron clopped over, muttering, "I was going to save this until after the meal, but…" then saying louder, "She is of Artemis' descent."

"Yes, yes," Mr. D sighed. "Welcome Natalie Mandad, daughter of Artemis."

"Nikki," I corrected. "Nikki Montag." Mr. D shrugged and gave a dismissing wave.

The campers erupted into whispers, mostly about me. Chiron cleared his throat and said, "Do not treat her differently. She is still a half-blood. Now, let the wood nymphs serve you. To the gods!"

They must have gotten over it because they all raised their goblets and shouted, "To the gods!" Even I managed to do that.

The things – wood nymphs – walked around and put food on my plate. Strawberries, bread, vegetables, cheese, grapes, and this mouth-watering brisket. I was about to dig in when I noticed kids getting up around me. I stood up too and asked a girl from Apollo, "What are we doing?"

"Make a sacrifice; to the god of your choosing; pray to them a lot," she replied, giggling and skipping away. I'm seriously wondering about her mental stability.

I followed the campers to the fire in the middle of the pavilion. They were scraping food into the flames, one by one. There were some people behind me, thank the gods – oh wait, I'm going to be doing that soon. I waited for a little while until it was my turn. Since it was my first time, I sacrificed a little more than everyone else: two plump strawberries and a thick hunk of brisket. "Thanks, Artemis," I murmured. The delicious smelling fire (I know! It smelled like a bundle of heavenly happiness) flickered silver for a second before returning to its original orange flame.

Eventually, every finished and we returned to our sets. I ate in silence, just thinking about how my life has changed so fast.

My dad. Oh, how I began to panic. Did he know where I was? Who my mother really was? If I'm alive or not? I'm gonna have to call him. I wonder if they have telephones around here...

Then I started thinking about my relationship with my mother. How alike was I to her? For one, I love animals and nature in general. I can throw pretty far, so that can be tied into archery, I guess. And I'm a night owl.

Yeah, I guess you could say we're related.

We finished our food. Chiron made an announcement about some capture the flag game happening in two days. We filed out of the dining pavilion.

Percy walked up to me. "Hey," he said.

"Hey."

"We're having a bonfire. Everyone comes together and does cliché campfire stuff. Y'know, songs, stories, marshmallows, that stuff."

"Sounds sweet. But what about the one girl there?"

He looked confused. "What girl?" (#2)

"That little girl that tends the fire."

"Never seen her before. We better hurry or we'll get a bad spot."

* * *

Okay, Mr. Percy, how can we get a _bad_ spot? There are logs around the huge fire, so there were no bad seats. We were the last people though, so we quickly sat on a log.

I was sitting next to that crazy chick from Apollo. I decided to be over-nice and say, "Hi, I'm Nikki? Who are you?"

She was quiet for a minute. "My name is Macy; I love to recite haikus; They are so awesome."

That made a lot more sense as to why she talked so weirdly.

I leaned towards Percy and whispered, "Do all Apollo kids talk like that?"

He snickered. "Nah, not that I know of. Only her."

Great. I just befriended a moron.

The kids started singing old Greek hymns. Don't know how, but I sang along too, even though my voice sounded like a cat in a blender. Then, one dude from Ares told a story about his dad fighting off a horde of _dracnae_ with a stick. A girl from Demeter filled us in how the strawberries were doing. No one even looked at me funny; I felt like I fit in for the first time in my life.

The moon came up and some campers departed from the fire. I was one of the first to leave.

When I got to my cabin, I noticed the door was slightly open. I peered in.

On one of the bunks was a bag. Just a regular duffel bag, but it had 'Camp Half-Blood' sewn on it. I unzipped it and found a note on it. On it, is said:

_"Welcome to Camp Half-Blood! Here's some stuff to get you settled. See ya later!"_

_ -Grace"_

I pulled out a neon-orange T-shirt with the camp's name on it. Next, a pair of jeans. Some socks and the likes. Then some pajama bottoms that I knew were Grace's. I got a toothbrush and some toothpaste along with a hairbrush.

Finally, I pulled out a small felt bag. I opened it and pulled out a coin. "Drachma," I whispered unconsciously. There were about ten of them in the bag.

Why would I need this? It's not like I could go to McDonald's and buy a Big Mac with these.

Whatever. I stuffed the duffel bag under my bed. Wait, that won't work. Welcome back, OCD. I've missed you.

I folded the bag perfectly and put it on a dresser that was on the back wall of the cabin. I also folded my clothes meticulously and placed them neatly in the drawers. "I feel much better now," I muttered to myself. (#3)

I wanted some sleep. When I hopped on the bed, I expected to fall asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

That was only wishful thinking, though.

* * *

**1.) Sea-green eyes: Foreshadowing, likeaboss.**

**2.) I know in the book Percy says he sees the small girl tending the flame, but for my story he just forgets about it, 'kay?  
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**3.) "I feel much better now.": Soul Eater reference. Anyone who knows who says it gets a cookie.  
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**Thanks for reading! I'll try to update soon, I promise!  
**

**-jgal747  
**


	3. I Have a Chat with a Goddess

**A/N: Hola, amigos!**

**This chapter is a (in my opinion) short, _extremely_ important chapter. It's explanation time in the world of Nikki.  
**

**Thank you for the reviews!**

**And to the anon: Thanks for pointing out that all cabins had a door and I've fixed it. I must've missed that somewhere XD  
However, I looked it up, like, 40 times, and every site and book said that all three gorgons turn people into stone.  
And I'll try to make Nikki less Mary Sue-ish. But, in my opinion, she's not Mary Sue-ish. I don't know if I've told you guys this, but I write for my own leisure. If I like something, I'm gonna keep it, regardless if everyone on this site hates me for it. 'Kay? :)  
**

**Disclaimer: Third time's the charm, right? Not in this case. I don't own it, still.  
**

* * *

I tossed and turned, got too warm with the blanket on and too cold with the blanket off. Screw counting sheep, it doesn't work.

Sighing, I stood up and got on my Converses. Maybe some fresh air would help.

I didn't get very far before I stopped and looked at the cabin. It had almost a… a_ glow_ to it, like the moon was reflecting off it. None of the other cabins had that happening to it.

Of course. Artemis magic.

I forgot about it and looked towards the hearth. I saw that girl poking the flames of the bonfire. I went up and sat down next to her. "Hey," I said.

"Hello." She looked about eight or nine. She had auburn hair and warm eyes.

Hold the phone. Warm eyes? Her eyes were balls of _fire_ in the sockets! That's right, ladies and gents, a little girl's eyes were a light orange color. A safe fire; it didn't make me intimidated, only more relaxed looking at them.

"What's your name?" I asked the kid.

"Hestia." That sounded familiar…

"Oh. That's cool."

She giggled. "I would prefer it not to be. I am the Goddess of the Hearth and Home. 'Cool' is not a word to describe me." My eyes widened.

Oh my gods, I was talking to a goddess! Do I speak formally? "Oh. Sorry." That was _not_ formal, Nikki!

"Do not apologize. Are you hungry?"

"A little. I gave up a lot of my dinner for the sacrifice."

"Ah, yes." She smiled warmly - literally. "Do you have a preference?"

"Dessert." So what, sugar messes with my ADHD? I haven't had chocolate in ages.

A small pile of food came in front of me. I was sure I was drooling. Brownies, cakes, some Indian-looking ball of dough. "Take what you wish," she said.

I grabbed a cookie, but didn't eat it yet. I broke a piece off and chucked it into the fire. "For Hestia."

The goddess took a deep breath and smiled. "Thank you, Nicole." She used my formal name. I only hear it on the first day of school or when my dad's _really_ mad at me. Speaking of him, the cookie tasted just like the ones he made. I giggled mentally, thinking of that.

Hestia continued, "It's rather fortunate you've visited my fire. I wished to speak with you about your mother."

"Oh," I replied. I actually felt sort of bad for my existence. I've thrown off Artemis' whole 'yeah, I'm a virgin' thing.

"I spoke with her just a moment ago while she made camp with her Hunters. She wanted to tell you about… you." I smiled, partly out of her loss of words for describing it and partly of encouragement.

"She did not conceive you." Oh gods, I could tell it was going to be an awkward conversation just by that sentence. "Your mortal mother befriended Artemis and the Hunters. She could see through the Mist." I wanted to asked her about this 'Mist' thing, but it didn't look like she was stopping. "At the time, she was pregnant with you, but very sick. Artemis stayed with your mother, out of responsibility and repaying a debt. Unfortunately, your mortal mother died during your birth and you were also infected with the blood. Artemis replaced your mother's blood with her own. So, Artemis is your mother, but she is also not."

Well, that's not a lot to take in.

Suddenly, the cookie I was eating wasn't so appetizing anymore. I threw it into the fire, not caring who got it. Hopefully the gods like chocolate chip.

I couldn't really think of anything to say, so I just said "Oh" again.

Hestia kept going, "Artemis is beyond mortified. She travels to Olympus to explain."

I felt a little offended by that, not gonna lie. And also sad. She's mortified of others finding out about me.

"Why would she be so embarrassed? It's not like she broke her own oath," I said.

"She knows that, but the others don't. Aphrodite is…" she dropped her voice to a whisper and leaned to me, like giving me a secret. "Aphrodite is acting smug." She looked around, like said goddess was gonna hop out from behind a tree.

I thought for a second. Aphrodite was probably gushing. "I know you couldn't resist the power of _love_!" she would say.

I laughed. "I can see why. You don't need to explain."

Hestia looked relieved. "Thank you. I don't wish to speak too much about her for fear of her turning me into a tree like she did with Myhhria."

"Who's Myhhria?" I asked.

She giggled quietly, a small tinkle that most eight-year-old girls laugh with. "You'll learn of her story later, for now, sleep."

"Thank you, my lady," I said, feeling proud of myself for saying the last part. Look at me, goin' all fancy!

"It was a pleasure, Nicole. If you ever wish to speak, just visit my fire." She walked into the flames and disappeared, leaving me with a warm feeling. I felt drowsy – which I guessed was the goddess' magic – so I strolled back to my cabin and quickly fell asleep.


	4. I'm a Wacky Dreamer

**A/N: Wassup? Welcome back!**

**Okay, long-ish chapter ahead. It's sorta important, but it's sorta not. I dunno. **

**Thanks for the review, Fallon Monroe. Glad to hear it makes sense to you, as it didn't to one of my friends. XD**

**Also, if anyone cares, I have a Tumblr that I post updates and stuff on my stories. It would be great if you could message me on there and tell me how I'm doing! My username is: the-jgal747  
**

**That being said, let's get onto the story!**

**Disclaimer: If you think I'm Rick Riordan, you're sorely mistaken. I'm a girl.**

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"Nikki! Get up! Time for breakfast!" someone called me. I squinted my eyes to see Grace hovering over me.

"Okay," I mumbled, slowly getting up and stretching, feeling my joints pop. I hummed in satisfaction and threw on some jeans when Grace left. I finished getting dressed with that gods-awful neon T-shirt. I hated it, but I had nothing else to wear, other than my dark blue blouse I wore the other day.

After my delicious breakfast of pancakes with strawberries and green orange juice (After some testing, I figured out that the goblets made any non-alcoholic drink in any color), I found my way to the archery pit. Some targets were set up a while away. The Apollo kids were there, too.

How do I know?

"Hello there, Nikki; Do you want me to teach you; About archery?" Macy's haiku said.

"Sure," I replied, picking up a bow and stinging a quiver to my back. I put an arrow on the string and pulled back. Without thinking, I let it fly. Bull's-eye.

"You do not need my help; You are great at archery; I'll see you around," Macy said, laughing and skipping away.

I shot a few more arrows until I got bored. Being good at something didn't make it fun.

So, I walked up to a climbing wall. Looked simple enough. I got a foothold and began climbing. Some rocks decided they wanted to ruin my life. I narrowly dodged and kept scurrying up.

Then came the lava.

"Crap," I muttered, staring at the red-hot liquid, oozing liquid. It looked like it was only coming down the side I was climbing. Oh, naturally.

I scampered around the rock wall, only singeing some hair off my ponytail that didn't get out of the way fast enough. Eventually, I made it up to the top. "Victory!" I shouted, laughing.

"Now get down," a voice called below me. Percy was there, smirking.

"Easier said than done, huh?" I began climbing down. Well, I like to call it climbing. To others it would be more like 'slipping and falling,' but whatever.

He clapped sarcastically. "Shut up," I said.

We talked for a bit. I found out that he liked the New York Rangers, while I argued that the Philadelphia Flyers were the best.

"Hartnell," I said.

"Gaborik," he argued.

"Hartnell!"

"Gaborik!"

"Hartnell has epic hair."

"Gaborik has epic stats."

"Hartnell had epic hair _and_ epic stats."

"Touché." (#1) We ended the conversation with that and a laugh. We walked to sword training. A boy with sandy blonde hair and a scar on his face was showing some kids proper battle stances.

I picked up a sword. It felt funny in my hands, almost too heavy and unbalanced. The dude came over and said, "Hey, Nikki, right?" I nodded, giving a bright and fake smile. Something was off about this guy…

"Yeah. And you?"

"Luke. Now, your stance is off little. Spread your feet apart more and bend your knees a little." I did what was told. He grabbed my left arm (the one with the sword in it) and brought it up. "Leftie, huh?"

"Ambidextrous, but left is my stronger side." Not that being ambidextrous had any perks for me; I can't write at all, thanks to my wonderful – not – dyslexia. He gave a 'cool' and went to help another struggling newbie. I flourished the sword around, not sure what to do. I felt clumsy, the sword moving around wildly instead of in clean arcs like what I've seen in movies. Then I had to remind myself that this wasn't a movie. It's real freakin' life.

I guess my brain is just hard-wired for long-ranged weapons.

I gave up and wandered around camp. A buff dude walked up to me. "'Sup? Name's Beckendorf. Grace wanted me to give you these and tell you to meet her at the practice range." Little random, but I went with it.

He gave me the package and I distinctively felt two separate things. Beckendorf smirked and walked off after I awkwardly thanked him.

Grace was at the practice range, like he said she would be. She smiled and said, "I see my half-brother gave you the stuff. Did you open it?"

"No. What is it?" I asked.

She scoffed. "You can open it, y'know." So I did. Inside the package were two pistols. They looked like Desert Eagles. "You like?"

"Wow," I gasped.

"They shoot celestial bronze bullets." She had to explain to me that celestial bronze was monster-slaying metal. It didn't hurt mortals though. "And the best thing is, is that the bullets are unlimited."

"What? How?" They've got to run out at some point, right?

"Magic. Just act like you're reloading and it'll do it for you!" This celestial bronze stuff sounded pretty rare...

"Go ahead! Try it out!" I mean, do they ever run out of the stuff?

"Hello? Earth to Nikki! You there?" I snapped out of my thinking about the bullets and actually listened.

"Yeah, sorry. But… why? Give them to me, that is."

She shrugged. "I found them. Figured you could use something magical around here."

"Wait, what do you have?"

She smirked and pulled out a golden ball from her pocket. She pressed a button and it turned into a four-legged creature, more like a spider with half its legs cut off. Gah, I hate spiders.

"It's the ultimate spying machine. It's got a camera that hooks up to this eyepiece-" she pulled out a doohickey that was a mix of an earpiece and an eyepiece. It clipped onto her left ear and the clear screen came around to in front of her eye. "And it's got a microphone to listen into conversations with. Here, watch."

Grace put down the thing and it scuttled around. It stopped in front of me and the camera looked up at me. I looked at Grace, who was apparently looking at my face.

"Wow," I repeated. The thing crawled into her hand and she turned it off, stuffing it and the face-piece back into her pocket. "That's the ultimate spy-der you got there." She deadpanned before cracking up. I laughed as well.

"Anyways, try out the guns. I want to see if they'll work, too."

"Alright." I held the guns and aimed. It was tougher, aiming with two weapons. I fired. Bother bullet holes were in the middle of the target. "Awesome," I whispered, examining the guns and firing them again. "These are… epic!"

Grace laughed. "Glad you like them. Try shooting while running." And so I did, starting at the far right end of the range. With my tortoise-slow sprint, I move parallel from the target and shot. Bull's-eye, again.

"These things are amazing!" I said. I began shooting them all different ways, while jumping, with my pinkies in the trigger (#2), that sort of stuff. I had to reload twice and sure enough, the ultra-cool magic was there.

"You seem to really like them," Grace said.

I nodded, maybe a little too happily, since I _was_ talking about guns here, not some innocent, non-life-threatening teddy bear.

"Keep them. I'll give you the holsters." She handed me them. They were black and like a belt, and the actual gun-protectors looked like cell-phone holders.

"Sweet." I slipped the belt on and carefully put the guns in. "Thanks a lot."

"Don't mention it." She walked off, leaving me to myself.

Sighing, I strolled around, when I was stopped by this huge chick. She crossed her arms in front of her with wild eyes. A posse formed around her. "Hi," I said pretty lamely.

"Punk," she snorted. "You've been talk of the camp for awhile now. I'm here to change that with our little initiation." If there's one thing I've learned from movies, it's that initiations are generally a humiliating experience.

I do _not _want to be humiliated.

"No thanks. I don't need to be initiated," I laughed nervously.

"Oh yes you do. Boys, grab her." Two guys behind her grabbed my upper arms tightly, lugging me to the bathroom.

Oh, Underworld no.

The boys pushed me into a stall and shoved my head towards the toilet. I figured I was gonna get swirled. I prayed my mom couldn't see me. That would be pretty pathetic.

"Hey!" I heard a voice shout. It sounded like Percy.

The buff chick pushed him away, from what I could hear, and said, "Stay outta this, punk."

I almost knew I couldn't get out of this mess. These guys were way too strong; I could feel my arms bruising. And even if I got past them, that huge girl would pound me to a pulp.

Might as well hold my breath.

Then something sorta weird happened. They pushed my head into it, but there was no water. "Not again," the beast-girl muttered. Water shot from the pipes in two large sprouts, hitting the boys and causing them to lose hold of my arms. A third sprout shot out, hitting the girl in the stomach. The floor was quickly becoming wet. I could feel my shoes and my hair getting soaked. Gross.

The three kids were sitting on their butts, groaning about their stomachs hurting. As I was looking down at them, I noticed a dry spot. I looked at it and found Percy standing in the middle of a dry circle around him. His eyes were wide with surprise. I think mine were, too.

The girl shakily stood up. "You got lucky, punk. Don't think we're done with you. Boys, let's move out."

"Yes, Clarisse," they replied at the same time. Clarisse, huh? With a final glare, they left the bathroom.

"Well… that happened," I said, confused to the extremes.

"Yeah," he replied, seemingly just as confused.

"Thanks, I guess?"

"I didn't do anything."

"Oh." I felt sort of like an idiot, just standing around in a dripping-wet bathroom. "How'd you do that?" I pointed to the dry spot he was standing in.

He shrugged. "I dunno." I just said 'oh' again.

I'm the queen of awkward silences.

I really needed a shower because the toilet water was getting slightly nauseating. "Well, whatever you did, thanks for it. I need to get washed up. See you around." With that , I left the bathroom, making sure nobody noticed me walking out of it so I wouldn't be to blame if someone came in and stepped in water.

After my shower, it was almost time for dinner. For the sacrifice, I threw in a really fresh roll for my mother and whoever did that stuff with the water, probably Poseidon. Chiron announced the capture-the-flag game tomorrow night.

I didn't know if I should feel pumped for the game, or nervous.  
Probably both.

The night ended at the campfire like yesterday did: singing and sharing stories. I actually told the story of my mom turning Sipriotes into a girl after him watching her bathe, like a pervert. (#3) What's weird it that I was never told that, it just came into my head like past knowledge. I guess my mom just wanted me to tell them something, and that was it. The campers actually got a kick out of it, to my pleasure.

* * *

It was an awkward dream that night.

Normally, I have weird dreams, but this one… this one takes the cakes. The other ones were about me flying in the air to Paris or some other stuff. Not this one.

I was in the middle of a half circle with huge people making up the shape. No, I don't mean seven-foot-tall-basketball-players huge. I'm talking about _giant_ people.

The one at the front of the semi-circle was the largest. I could just feel the self-importance this guy had. The man sighed, his white beard swaying a little. "Artemis, was this a necessary meeting? Could this have not waited until the summer solstice?"

Wait, Artemis? If she was here, then was he…?

Oh, snap. I was looking at Zeus.

"No, it couldn't have," one of the women said. She had dark brown hair and a silvery dress on. I could only guess that this was Artemis; my mom. Geez, she's pretty. Why didn't I get her looks when she transformed me?

"Father is right. I have things to do. Was it really that important that you had to explain your daughter to us?" an amazingly gorgeous woman said. When I looked at her, I forgot she was talking about me. She was like one of those famous people you couldn't stop looking at. (#4)

"Yes," my mother replied. That was when I snapped out of it and got all self-conscious inside. They were _talking_ about me.  
Gods. Talking about me.

Artemis continued, "I was observing her today."

Hold the phone. How? I wanted to ask that, but I realized that I was only watching the scene; I couldn't do anything, say anything, or move anywhere. It was really confusing.  
Not to mention the fact that if she was watching me today, she probably saw my almost-initiation fail.

"She seems to have great potential as one of my Hunters. However, I noticed that a certain _someone_ had their eyes on her, too." She looked pointedly at the guy across from her. Good gods, he was hot! "Apollo, mind explaining?"

Oh, wait. Apollo, sun god. He really _was_ hot.

Apollo held his hands up in defense. "I drive the sun. I see all. Anyway, sis, I kept away a gorgon for her and her little friend. You should be thanking me, if anything." He gave a charming smile with bright white teeth. Oh wow, I'm swooning over a god. Talk about being out of my league (and a relative).

Artemis rolled her eyes. "I would prefer is you kept your eyes from her. She's my daughter – so to speak."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. You want to keep her maidenhood and all that, I get it. I won't send any of my sons on her, don't worry." If I wasn't dreaming, I would be blushing. Scratch that, I'm pretty sure I _am_ blushing.

"That being said, daughter," Zeus said (I noticed how Artemis looked so peeved when he said 'daughter'), "I believe that she's a powerful demigod. Normally, I do not interact with any of your dealings with mortals, but I believe this one to be a case."

"If she wasn't in Camp Half-Blood," an old man in a wheelchair said, "Monsters would have gotten to her. I believe they already have."

A woman, who I could only guess as Hera, spoke. "What are you going to do, Artemis?"

"Simple. I plan on recruiting her as a Hunter. My maidens and I can assist her in fighting the monsters. It would also make certain that she is not the child of the prophecy."

A murmur of consent went through the semi-circle. What was this prophecy she was talking about? And how could she be able to stop me being part of it?

A huge version of Mr. D sighed, "I don't care what you do with her. Just get her out of my camp."

"Meeting adjourned," Zeus said. Most of them flashed a bright light and disappeared.

I could feel myself waking up. Before I could, though, I saw Artemis look at where I was standing, almost as if looking _at_ me. She gave a small – very small, almost unnoticeable – smile. And I woke up.

"Holy crap," I whispered up at the ceiling.

That was one freaky dream.

* * *

**1.) Hartnell, Gaborik argument: Me and my friend actually had this conversation, except she replaced Gaborik with some other hockey player.**

**2.) Pinkies in the trigger: Virtual cookie and a hug if anyone can tell me what anime that's from.  
**

**3.) *cough cough* Tom Hiddleston *cough cough*  
**


	5. Trees Hate Me

**A/N: Hey hey hey! Welcome back!**

**Alright, I apologize for the lack of action you'd expect in this chapter. I was picturing an epic fight-scene in my brain, but it never allowed itself to be written. **

**Anyway, I want to thank all the people who've favorited this story and who've reviewed! Thanks a bunch!**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Rick Riordan hasn't answered my e-mail begging him for me to own Percy Jackson and the Olympians. So I don't.**

* * *

The entire camp was super excited, an anxious air running around. Why? Capture the flag.

The teams were chosen. Apparently, they already had their teams made up, save me. I could tell Clarisse wasn't about to let me on her team, so I asked if I could join the other. So, Team Blue was: me, Apollo cabin, Athena cabin, and Hermes cabin. Team Red was: Ares cabin, Dionysus cabin, Demeter cabin, Aphrodite cabin, and Hephaestus cabin. It was going to be weird going against Grace; normally we always teamed up.

Chiron called out, "Heroes! You know the rules. The creek is the boundary line. The entire forest is fair game. All magic items are allowed." I smirked at the gun hidden on my belt under my shirt. "The banner must be prominently displayed, and have no more than two guards. Prisoner may be disarmed, but may not be bound or gagged. No killing or maiming is allowed. I will serve as a referee and battlefield medic. Arm yourselves!"

The tables in the pavilion were covered with different things one would need for battle. Armor, shields, swords, and these weird helmets with plumes were there. I pulled out my guns and took out the clips, replacing the bullets with blue paintball bullets. They wouldn't _maim_ anyone. They only hurt like the Underworld. I grabbed a lightweight shield and strapped it onto my arm. It was different than the rest, having two straps on it instead of a handle. Slinging it onto my right arm, I felt extremely like Captain America. I put on one of the helmets with a ridiculous blue plume on it. I was prepped for battle.

"What, no sword?" Luke asked me as we stood and waited for the others to finish.

"I'm more of a long-ranged person," I explained.

"Blue team, forward!" that girl Annabeth yelled. We all marched down to the southern woods while the red team went north. She started dismissing people around; border patrol, defense, and offense.

Before everyone left, I said, "Wait." They all looked at me. "If you see a metal spider, capture it. Someone on Red Team has that. It spies and captures audio and video."

Annabeth nodded. "Got it. Thanks for the tip. You all heard her. Be on the lookout. Let's go!" Everyone whooped and spread out.

She turned to me. "I want you as one of the guards for the flag. Stay in the trees, keep out of sight. If anyone comes, shoot them. Okay?"

"Right," I said. The other guard, a kid from Hermes, held the flag and nodded for me to follow him. I did and we made our way to a small clearing.

He stabbed it down in the middle of the clearing. "Okay. We'll stay up in the trees. If anyone comes, I'll chase 'em, 'kay?"

"Yeah," I said.

"And if someone's coming, we need a signal." He whistled and it sounded like a chickadee. I repeated it. "Good."

I found a nice and high tree and climbed it, panting as I reached the top. I need to work out more.

The tree gave me a nice view of the flag – and anyone who tries to get it. The leaves provided cover, but not too much where I couldn't aim. I spotted the Hermes kid on a lower branch on the opposite side of the clearing, ready to hop down and chase someone. I took off my shield and settled it on a branch near me. I leaned against the tree and waited.

A conch shell blew in the distance. I tensed up, hearing shouts, battle-cries, and the clash of metal-on-metal. It was a minute before my ally whistled that bird-call. I prepped, taking my guns out of the holsters and readying them.

Suddenly, a red-plumed girl bolted into the clearing. It looked like he spent a lot of time on her looks; her helmet was on perfectly and her armor was on straight. Aphrodite's kid, no doubt.

Before she could reach the flag, I shot a tree near her, the blue paint splattering against the bark. She jumped a full five feet in the air, but kept moving. I glared at her (not like she could see me, but…) and aimed for her breastplate. _Bam_.

She let out a full on scream and ran away, arms flailing around wildly, completely forgetting the flag. I heard the Hermes' kid laugh and clap a little. A few minutes later, another person ran into the clearing. The other guard chased him out, leaving only me to protect the flag.

There was a rustling sound under the tree I was in. I looked down anxiously, but I couldn't see anything. Shrugging, I looked back up, still tense, though.

Then all Underworld broke loose.

The tree swayed dangerously. I grabbed the branch while strapping on my shield. That was when it tipped over, the tree falling down fast, almost dizzying. I fell down with it, branches and leaves scraping my whole body, mainly my arms and face. I hit my head on the ground really hard, so stars danced in my vision. It wasn't enough for me to pass out, only enough that it made my entire body feel like lead.

Of course I wouldn't think about my well-being, though. My first thought was: _Gotta save the flag._

I forced myself up, nearly fainting from my lightheadedness. I looked around to see two kids staring at me, all with smug looks on their faces. They both had blonde hair and familiar purple eyes. One had a huge saw that was on fire. So that's how they got me down. The fire burnt through the wood and the saw cut it with no noise.

"Hi," I slurred.

"Get the flag," one ordered the other.

"Oh, heck no," I said, standing up and placing myself defensively in front of the flag. Shakily, I pulled out my guns.

It set them back a step, for sure, until the one with the saw said, "You can't scare us." He lifted his 'weapon'.

"Sure I can," I said. I shot my guns at his shoulders, causing him to fall on his butt. I laughed, my head starting to clear a bit now.

"Y-you'll pay for that!" the other shouted, pulling out a sword. I quickly sheathed my left gun and used the shield. He swung an uppercut towards me. I deflected it off my shield and shot at him. He skillfully moved the sword so it caught the paintball, super samurai-like.

"Woah," I gasped. The other got up and dropped the saw, its flame extinguishing.

That's when I felt something wrap around my legs. Vines twisted and weaved over my feet, disabling me to move. Then I saw the little purple things on them. Grapes.

Holy crap. These were Dionysus' kids.

I cursed in ancient Greek (dunno how that happened) and glared at them. One of them grabbed the flag and made away. I shot at his back, only hitting him once.

"Thanks," the other said before dashing off, the vines still around my feet.

It was a little over five seconds later when I heard victorious shouts and the conch shell being blown again. We probably lost. I remember the clearing being not too far away from the creek.

The vines somehow disappeared and I was able to run away towards the creek. I saw Luke being carried on the shoulders of our teammates and the two Dionysus kids looking at them sadly. I guess we won.

That girl from Aphrodite was glaring at me. Some of the paint bounced off onto her chin. The paint was permanent, so she'll have a nice blue chin for who knows how long. I snickered at her while I emptied the clip and allowed the celestial bronze bullets to take their place again.

Suddenly, a loud growl was heard in the forest. It sounded like my neighbor's pit bull in New Jersey, times a thousand. A huge black dog emerged from the woods, aiming towards Percy and shredding his arm. I aimed my guns and shot in rapid succession. Chiron aimed an arrow to its neck. Forty times.

The dog fell dead. "_Di immortales!"_ Annabeth hissed. "That's a hellhound from the Fields of Punishment. They don't… they're not supposed to…"

Chiron clomped over. "Someone summoned it. Someone inside the camp."

A murmur of surprise went through the campers. Clarisse hollered, "It's all Percy's fault! Percy summoned it!"

"You got any proof on that?" I muttered under my breath, not loud enough for anyone else to hear.

"Be quiet, child," Chiron reprimanded. Ooh, burn. The hellhound disappeared into the ground; weird.

"You're wounded," Annabeth said to Percy, who looked like absolute crap. "Quick Percy, get in the water."

"I'm okay," he said. No, dude. You're obviously not.

Annabeth voiced what I thought. "No you're not. Chiron, watch this." Percy complied, stepping into the creek. The cut got healed quickly. I gasped, but not just for that reason.

Above his head was a golden trident, appearing similarly to the hologram I got.

"You're father… this is _really_ not good," Annabeth said.

Chiron said, "It is determined." A few kids started kneeling, and I did the same.

"My father?" Percy asked.

"Poseidon," Chiron said. "Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses. Hail, Perseus Jackson, Son of the Sea God."

Percy looked around awkwardly. "Uh, thanks." The centaur raised his hands, signaling all of us to rise. We did.

He turned to us. "Heroes, you all did an excellent job during capture the flag. Return to our cabins and rest." I was one of the last to leave, waiting around for Percy.

"Well, now you know how you did that thing in the bathroom," I said, trying to break the ice. (Get it? Y'know, water and ice? I can almost see you shaking your head at me being punny.)

"Yeah, I guess," he said. Grace starting walking towards me, looking about as sad as I've ever seen her. "I'll see you around," Percy said while walking off.

"What's the matter?" I asked her. She pulled out a mangled mass of metal. It was twitching. I gasped. "Your spy-der…"

"Someone stepped on it," she sighed.

Well, that makes me feel like a complete jerk. "I… I'm so sorry. I warned them of it. But I didn't tell them to destroy it!" I added the last part when I saw her green eyes go from sad to pure rage.

"You _told_ them about it?" she seethed. "You weren't supposed to!"

"I didn't know it was a secret!" I said back, my voice raising. "I was just helping me team!"

"Well, by 'helping your team', you got it destroyed! Gods know how long it'll take to fix it! Good job, Nikki." With that, Grace stormed off, leaving me feeling angry and sad at the same time, the pain from my scratches dulling as I forgot about them.

Great. My best friend hates my guts.


	6. We Steal From a Home Improvement Store

**A/N: Oh my gosh. Thank you for coming back.**

**It's been awhile, hasn't it? I know, I know. I hate myself for it, too.  
**

**I'll give an excuse: Summer. Normal writers would praise this time as an opportunity to write more. Me? I see it as an invitation to sleep in and Not. Do. Anything.  
**

**And it'll be really weird to say that when school starts back up, I'll actually be writing more, since I normally write when I'm bored in class.  
**

**But this is a good chapter, in my opinion. PLOT. PLOT. PLOT.  
I hope it makes up for me being a terrible excuse of a writer!  
**

**Disclaimer: I'll use the good ol' fashioned one: If I did own the Percy Jackson series, I would be rich. I'm not. I also don't own Home Depot (it'll make more sense once you read the chapter, trust me.)  
**

* * *

Five days flew by. Grace had been keeping her distance from me and I wanted to make it up to her. I knew the legs – which were the most messed up – were made of regular metal. I had an idea.

I knocked on the door of the Big House. Chiron let me in and a wood nymph offered me some crackers. I took one and nibbled on it while sitting down. Mr. D was playing some solo card game. "What can I help you with?" Chiron asked.

I explained that Grace's spy-der was destroyed. "She wants to fix it, but doesn't have the right stuff. He doesn't need celestial bronze, she needs metal."

"Mortal metal?" Chiron asked. I nodded. "We are not limited of that here."

"It has to be a special type and I know exactly what kind it is. It's found in most home improvement stores-"

"No," Mr. D interrupted. "No camper is permitted to leave camp unless a quest is involved."

"But this _is _technically a quest," I said.

Chiron shook his head. "We're talking about a different quest. One that is distributed, not asked for."

"Please? It'll be a simple trip. I promise."

"Eh, let Nilly go with her friend," Mr. D sighed. I looked at him, confused. "What? You and your friend Grape get to go. Shouldn't you be bowing down in worship to me for allowing you this most gracious trip?"

I stuttered, "Well, I-yeah, I mean, I wasn't asking for her to go as well."

He raised a bushy eyebrow. "She needs the metal, she can get the metal. Do you have any problems about that?"

I sighed in defeat. "No, sir. Thank you for letting me – us – goes."

Chiron said, "We'll let Argus drive you to a town. Tell no one of this. Follow me." He ushered me out of the Big House and towards Hephaestus cabin. Grace just happened to walk out at that time. "Ah, Grace. So fortunate to stumble upon you. Nikki has told me of your dilemma with your mechanical spider. We have permitted you two to go and get the proper materials." He sounded really peppy; wonder what's up with him.

Grace glared at me and said, "Let me get my wallet." Five seconds later, she walked out with her leather wallet with green hearts on it. "Alright."

We walked in a van that said 'Delphi's Strawberry Service.' Wait a sec; those are the strawberries my dad always bought!

And the guy – Argus, I guessed – wasn't very normal, either. I realized he didn't have just two eyes. There were some on his neck and on the top of his hands.

A little gross, but I went with it.

"Here is a drachma should you run into any trouble. Message me with Iris," Chiron said, handing Grace one of those golden coins.

Before I could ask what Iris was, we were ushered onto the van. I sat shotgun while Grace sat in the back. Argus started the car and we drove off.

It would've been an awkward car ride anyway, but it didn't help that half of Argus' eyeballs were trained on me the entire time. And I didn't want to make conversation because one: it would grant a glare from Grace in the backseat and two: I didn't want to find out if Argus had any eyes on his tongue.

Argus dropped us off in some random town at a Home Depot. We stepped out of the car and he parked in a space to wait. We walked into the store and asked for the section with the metals.

To the left, apparently.

Grace looked around and picked up a large box of nails. "That's it?" I asked.

"I just need to smelt it down and mold it into the legs," she snapped. I left it at that.

We were waiting in the self-checkout aisle when I felt someone staring at me. I could feel their gaze on my back, sending an eerie shiver run down my spine.

"Oh, come on!" Grace growled at the machine that was giving her problems.

"Grace," I said nervously. She turned and glared at me. "Do you feel like someone's watching us?" Her glare softened and she nodded a little as she looked around.

"There." She nodded to an aisle where five women stood. They wore revealing dresses that went to mid-thigh and were bright red. They also had a hood attached to the dress, which was pretty weird. They wore red gloves.

I shrugged and looked away. No matter how creepy these people seemed, I didn't want to think we had caught them. "Maybe they're just cosplayers," I said, pretty much reassuring myself.

Grace shook her head. "I don't think cosplayers walk menacingly towards two teenage girls." That's a little specific, huh?

Then I realized: She was talking about us.

I turned around and sure enough, the five women were strutting our way. A man stopped to stare at them as they walked; pervert. They were about halfway to us when they pulled down their hoods in unison. What I saw was pretty much a shocker.

They each had these huge, gruesome mouths. They were filled with spiky teeth and curled into a smile that stretched across half of their bottom face. Their eyes were sunken in and an almost-glowing red. One opened its mouth and a pointy tongue slid out. They pulled off their gloves and showed us wicked-sharp claws. The only thing that looked decent about them was their hair, a dark black that was curled up in some intricate braid. (#1)

My first reaction was to puke. Seriously, these chicks were pretty disgusting. I gulped, trying to stop myself from doing that. My next thought was to take out my guns, which were holstered on my belt. I forgot about that, though.

Here's why:

The woman in the front – I guess the leader – hissed over the sound of people screaming and running away, "Are you Nicole Montag?"

Forget answering demon-ladies. I bolted for the door. Grace was right behind me, still clutching the box of nails. I guess we were getting them for free.

The automatic door was too slow for me, causing me to smack my face against the door. I stumbled back and fell onto Grace, falling into a huge heap on the floor. The women were closing in on us now, only picking up their pace by a little. Grace screamed. So did I.

Then I remembered my guns again. I pulled them out of the holsters and sat up on my knees. I shot the first demon. I thought it would've been a quick head-shot, but she just swayed her head away from the bullet, it missing the side of her face by a few inches. I shot again at her chest. It worked; it hit her. But it made a hole through her chest and the hole closed itself up again.

So I'm being chased by demon-women who can't get shot. Perfect.

The leader hissed again, "Are you Nicole Montag?"

Grace looked at me with a face that almost screamed, "Don't confirm your name to a demon!"

But since when have I ever listened to facial expressions?

I nodded my head weakly. The leader smirked and stopped walking a good ten feet away from us. The smirk was terrifying, really. "Good. Hades will be pleased." Then she lunged.

I couldn't think about what she just said; all I knew was that I needed to get _out of there._ Grace managed to scramble away and stayed to the sideline.

Smart girl, she knew they weren't after her, so they wouldn't mess with her.

Stupid girl, even though she got in a fight with her friend, you would think that a person would help that friend when they're being attacked by demons.

I rolled out of the way. Even though it wouldn't kill her, I shot her, if only to slow her down. What was weird was that the other four were doing nothing, just standing there. It was like this was her fight only.

I couldn't think much longer about that, so I began running down one aisle that had a bunch of wooden planks in it. Quick thinking led me to shove down a heavy box of them, filling up the entire aisle.

I thought she would be distracted, even if for a few seconds. Nope. She nimbly hopped over the planks, still running after me. I had only gained about a good second lead on her.

Then I saw a miracle: an emergency exit door in the back of the store. I slammed it open, my arm throbbing from the impact. I hoped that Apollo was smiling down upon me – like he was when my math teacher was chasing me – and decided to block the monster from following me outside.

He wasn't.

She followed me out. I shot behind me without looking, not knowing if I hit my mark or not. I knew I wouldn't be able to get away from her; she was gaining on me quickly. I bolted for the parking lot in the front of the store by crossing the street.

Then, I heard the honking of a semi-truck and the screeching of brakes, followed by a loud _thud._ I turned to see the demon lying on the ground with the truck stopped behind her. She had been hit.

The demon wasn't getting up, so I took this as my chance to sprint to the parking lot. I saw Argus' van parked in the same spot with Grace opening the door to get into it. I picked up my pace a little and jumped in before she closed the door. "Hit it, Argus," I gasped, trying to get my breath back. He did, stomping his foot on the pedal and screeching off the lot.

It was a few seconds of silence where I panted, adrenaline still pumping from my encounter. I looked at Grace, who was staring wide-eyed back at me. We stared at each other for a while, not even trying to believe what just happened. "What were they?" Grace asked.

"I have no idea," I answered. Then I thought about what the leader said, '_Hades will be pleased.'_ "But I think Hades wants to kill me."

We both relished in that news for a good bit. Grace then shook what was in her hand. "At least I got the metal."

* * *

"So you mean to say that women in red robes were trying to kill you?" Chiron asked, disbelief written on his face. He had asked the question after Grace and I explained to him what had happened.

"Yes," I said.

"This is not good," he said. "Those women are called the Keres. They find mortals and kill them, taking their souls to the Underworld. They work for Hades, in a way. I'm surprised you two made it out alive."

"And that's the danger of letting you youngsters go out into the mortal world. It's easier for monsters to find you." Mr. D put his cards down on the table, looking over at us. "I thought you said this metal had to be a special kind." He pointed to the box of nails in Grace's hands.

I couldn't find an answer to that; the whole 'it's a special metal' thing was just to get me to go.

Grace, apparently, had an answer waiting. "It is. Wrought iron. We have regular iron, metal, steel, silver, gold, celestial bronze-"

"Don't name them all! Keep going!" Mr. D urged.

"But we don't have a lot of wrought iron. I needed this," she said.

Mr. D sighed. "Fine. I'll have you both know; you two are _strictly_ restricted to the campgrounds now." I had to stop the urge to laugh when he said "strictly restricted."

"Yes sir," we said. It would be better not to argue with him.

"I'm glad you two made it out safely," Chiron said, dismissing us. We left and closed the door to the Big House.

Instead of moving, we just stayed on the porch. "I'm sorry," I said. "For messing up your spy-der and almost getting you killed."

"The 'almost-getting-me-killed' wasn't your fault. And it's okay."

We hugged it out. I regret nothing. "Well, now that _that_ adventure is done with, how about I go and repair my spy-der?" Grace said. I laughed and nodded, leaving to go to my own cabin.

The day left me exhausted, both physically and mentally. I sat on my bed and stared at the star-filled ceiling. My brain was full from thinking.

So, Hades was after me. Why? I never did anything to offend him – at least, not that I know of. I'm still not sure if the one Keres that was chasing me died, but I doubt it. That may have been a semi-truck that hit her, but she was a demon.

I tried to think about it for a little longer, but I was tired. It was only about one o'clock, but I was burnt out. I closed my eyes and soon fell asleep, replaying the vivid lunge of the Keres.

* * *

**1.) Okay, so the image of the Keres with spiky teeth I got in my mind when typing this was Grell from Black Butler (a seriously good anime, I want everyone to watch it). And yes, I think in Greek mythology they have wings, but I left that out.**


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